Angel Di Maria is Argentina’s most important player

International and club soccer are different, mostly because of the training time involved. Club teams get consecutive months together, giving coaches a chance to develop a well-defined style, and if they choose, a very intricate one. International managers are not afforded the same courtesy, meaning that national teams are almost always less tactically sophisticated, less fluid and capable of fewer pretty passing moves than their top club counterparts.

And it’s for this reason that Di Maria -- an inarguably inferior player to Messi -- is Argentina’s most important fixture even if he could never be the same thing for Barcelona. At the international level, there’s no time to build a team around Messi’s incredible footballing brain. It can be only a very important accent to a much simpler overall concept than what Barca puts on the pitch. A national side needs someone athletic, direct, hard-working and able to contribute to all phases of play, regardless of the tactical system or available teammates. Di Maria fits the bill perfectly.

Besides winning the ball, starting counter-attacks and covering an incredible amount of distance, Di Maria scored a goal and set up another. Here he is finishing off the opener off a pass from Ever Banega.

And here he is returning the favor, finding Banega for Argentina’s second.

These goals were both classic Di Maria. They didn’t feature any passing triangles or gorgeous 50-touch team combinations. They featured getting the ball, moving toward goal as quickly as possible then kicking the ball into the damn goal.

At the international level, great teams need this. It’s the most effective way to score. And it’s why Di Maria means more to the Albiceleste than their best player does.